Safety back-up sensor for a vehicle

ABSTRACT

A safety back-up sensor, formed with a cylindrical jacket with two ends and a hollow core between the two ends to accommodate a rubber bushing and a signal sensor module. Multiple parallel longitudinal resilient tabs are formed on the cylindrical jacket. The resilient tabs protrude from the exterior surface of the cylindrical jacket and have transverse teeth to prevent the senor body from being dislodged. Longitudinal ribs are formed on alternate resilient tabs to prevent the sensor body from rotating. With these specially designed transverse teeth and ribs, the sensor is able to counter the external rotating and shifting forces present in various driving conditions and to firmly affix the sensor to a vehicle bumper.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a safety back-up sensor, in particular,a sensor with multiple resilient tabs on the shoulder to preventshifting or rotation of the sensor body, allowing the sensor to befirmly affixed on a vehicle bumper.

2. Description of Related Art

When an ordinary user wants to install a sensor deice in the vehicle,his or her main consideration is the accuracy in detecting the proximityof an object. Elements causing false alarms of the electronic sensor canbe either external factors or circuit design problems. The user wants toknow whether the sensor device is capable of distinguishing actualobjects from noises and accurately approximating the distance betweenthe vehicle and the object, based on the reflection of ultrasonicsignals emitted. A primary consideration is whether the sensor isrigidly installed in place so the device can function properly.

With reference to FIG. 5, a conventional back-up sensor device includesa cylindrical body (40), an end plate (43), a rubber bushing (41) and asignal sensor module (42). A hollow core runs through the cylindricalbody (40) to accommodate the rubber bushing (41) and the signal sensormodule (42). The signal sensor module (42) emits ultrasonic signalsthrough a through hole in the cylindrical body (40) to detect any objectwithin its effective range.

In the conventional method of installing a sensor device, a hole isdrilled in the rear bumper of the vehicle, in which the sensor device isinstalled. When the sensor device is inserted into the bumper, thesecurity of the installation relies on the abrasion force of theexternal wall of the sensor against the inner wall of the installationhole to grip the device. The external wall of a conventional sensor body(40) usually has a smooth surface. A vehicle riding over bumpy roads islikely to cause rocking, bouncing and vibration of the vehicle chassisand the bumper. Over an extended period of time, the sensor body (40)will likely loosen or become detached from the installation hole.

When assembling the conventional sensor device, the signal sensor module(42) is first inserted into the rubber bushing (41), and the rubberbushing (41) is slid into the body of sensor (40). As such, the sensorbody indirectly exerts pressure on the perimeter of the signal sensormodule, which may cause dislocation of the sensor leading to aberrationsin signal transmission and reception. This phenomenon may well causefalse alarms due to incorrect approximation of the distance between anobject and the sensor device.

To overcome the shortcoming in the conventional sensor device mentionedabove, the present invention provides a type of vehicle back-up sensor,wherein multiple directional and locating constructs are created on theshoulder of the external sensor body to ensure rigid installation of theback-up sensor on the vehicle bumper under all driving conditions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The safety back-up sensor presented in this invention comprises acylindrical body with a hollow tubular core to accommodate a rubberbushing, in which a signal sensor module is installed on one end. Theshoulder of the external sensor body has multiple convex-shapedresilient tabs having the appearance of a fretted carving. The topportion of each resilient tab is impressed with transverse teeth toprevent the sensor unit from shifting. Alternately, double ribs overtransverse teeth are created on every other resilient tab to prevent thesensor unit from rotating. With these special features, the sensor unitcan be firmly attached to the vehicle bumper.

Other objectives, advantages, and novel features of the invention willbecome apparent from the detailed description when taken in conjunctionwith the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the safety back-up sensor inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the safety back-up sensor in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional side plan view of the safety back-up sensorin FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional bottom plan view of the safety back-upsensor in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional sensor back-updevice for a vehicle in accordance with the prior art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the safety back-up sensor in accordancewith the present invention comprises a cylindrical jacket (10), a rubberbushing (20), a signal-sensing transceiver (30) and an end plate (35).

The cylindrical jacket (10) has a hollow center, two open ends and aninside and outside surface. The hollow center extends to the outsidethrough an integrated bezel (11) at one end. Pairs of parallellongitudinal through slots (12) are formed through the cylindricaljacket (10). Each longitudinal through slot (12) has two ends, and theends of each pair is connected by a transverse through slot (notnumbered) at the end adjacent to the bezel (11) to form a resilient tab(13) between each pair of longitudinal through slots (12). An outsidesurface of each resilient tab (13) extends out from the outside surfaceof the cylindrical jacket (10) in a triangular configuration. In thecurrent embodiment four resilient tabs (13) are disposed in parallel.The parallel resilient tabs (13) extend from near one end of thecylindrical jacket (10) toward the bezel (11) but do not touch the bezel(11), thus forming a free end.

Multiple transverse teeth (14) are formed on the outside portion ofalternate resilient tabs (13) toward the free end. Parallel ribs (15)are formed on the other resilient tabs (13). A rectangular engagementhole (16) is formed near the attached end of each resilient tab (13).

An axial channel (17) is formed between adjacent pairs of resilient tabs(13) on the inner surface on the jacket (10) to hold the rubber bushing(20) in place.

The external wall of the rubber bushing (20) has multiple parallelgrooves (21) and multiple ridges (22). The grooves (21) correspond tothe positions of resilient tabs (13) on the jacket (10). The ridges (22)correspond to the axial channels (17) on the inner surface of the jacket(10).

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 3, to assemble the back-up sensor,firstly, the signal sensor module (30) is inserted into one end of therubber bushing (20). Secondly, the rubber bushing (20) is slid into thejacket (10). Finally, the end plate (35) is fit into the end of thejacket (10) opposite from the bezel (11) to securely hold the bushing(20) in the jacket (20). The end plate (35) has an outer edge (notnumbered) with multiple locking tabs (36) corresponding to the positionsof engagement holes (16) on the jacket (10). These locking tabs (36)allow the end plates (35) to be rigidly attached to the jacket (10).

With reference to FIG. 4, each ridge (22) on the rubber bushing (20) islodged in the corresponding channel (17) on the inner wall of the jacket(10), so that the rubber bushing (20) can be firmly affixed to preventturning of one part in relation to the other. The external wall of therubber bushing (20) has multiple parallel grooves (21) corresponding tothe positions of resilient tabs (13) on the jacket (10), so that inbetween the rubber bushing (20) and the jacket (10) a gap is formed.With the foregoing structure, the pressure directly applied to thesignal sensor module can be reduced, thereby reducing the false alarmrate when backing up to park a vehicle.

Again referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, when the back-up sensor presented inthe invention is installed on the vehicle bumper, the protrudingresilient tab (13) on the cylindrical body (10) produces a stronggripping force on the inner wall of the hole used for installation ofthe sensor body, so that the sensor body can be firmly affixed on thevehicle bumper. In addition, the transverse teeth (14) present on theresilient tab (13) are used to further increase the abrasion forceagainst the inner wall of the installation hole to prevent shifting ofthe sensor body (10), and the ribs (15) are designed to counter therotational force on the sensor body.

The present invention provides a safety back-up sensor that can berigidly installed in a vehicle bumper by means of and the protrudingresilient tabs with transverse teeth and ribs. It is apparent that theback-up sensor with the improved body structure is capable of enhancingthe efficacy in giving warning of the proximity of an object compared toconventional sensor devices.

The foregoing illustration of the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention is intended to be illustrative only, and under nocircumstances should the scope of the present invention be sorestricted.

What is claimed is:
 1. A safety back-up sensor, comprising: acylindrical jacket with two ends, a hollow core extending between theends and a bezel integrally formed on one end and multiple pairs ofparallel longitudinal through slots through the external surfaceconnected by a transverse through slot at the end near the bezel to formmultiple parallel resilient tabs extending from one end of the jacketopposite the bezel and protruding from an outer surface of the jacket,but not touching the bezel to form a free end; and a rubber bushing withtwo ends mounted inside the cylindrical jacket, with a signal-sensingtransceiver mounted in one end; whereby the resilient tabs on theshoulder of the cylindrical jacket allow the sensor body to grip theinner wall of the hole to be used for installing the back-up sensor on avehicle bumper, so that the sensor body can be firmly affixed on thevehicle bumper.
 2. The safety back-up sensor as claimed in claim 1,wherein each resilient tab is designed to be somewhat convex in shape.3. The safety back-up sensor as claimed in claim 2, wherein the innersurface of the jacket has a channel between adjacent pairs of resilienttabs, and the external wall of the rubber bushing has multiple lockingribs, whereby the locking ribs are firmly mounted in the channels whenthe rubber bushing is inserted into the cylindrical jacket.
 4. Thesafety back-up sensor as claimed in claim 3, wherein the external wallof the rubber bushing has multiple parallel grooves corresponding to theresilient tabs on the cylindrical jacket; whereby a gap is createdbetween the bushing and the cylindrical jacket when the rubber bushingis inserted into the cylindrical jacket.
 5. The safety back-up sensor asclaimed in claim 4, wherein the resilient tab toward the free end hasmultiple transverse teeth.
 6. The safety back-up sensor as claimed inclaim 4, wherein the resilient tab toward the free end has multipleaxial ribs.
 7. The safety back-up sensor as claimed in claim 4, whereinthe alternate resilient tabs have multiple ribs and transverse teeth. 8.The safety back-up sensor as claimed in claim 5, wherein an engagementhole is formed near a fixed end of every resilient tab to attach an endplate on to the jacket, wherein the end plate has an outer edge withmultiple locking tabs.
 9. The safety back-up sensor as claimed in claim8, wherein an engagement hole is formed near the fixed end of everyresilient tab to correspond to a locking tab of the end plate, wherebythe end plate is attached on to the jacket.
 10. The safety back-upsensor as claimed in claim 7, wherein an engagement hole is formed nearthe fixed end of every resilient tab to attach the end plate on to thejacket.